30,004 Members

[BomberGal]

Oh go join Tess in the paddock.

I never said there was no outcry over what's happening to Brisbane. Hell I'm right on board and will be one of the first to keep it going if need be.

This is about our membership numbers being just as relevant as yours should that for some unknown and obscure reason you claimed was a reason be a factor.

Dead set as a bombers fan, I wouldn't be telling us lot to shut up. I'd be keeping my trap shut and counting my blessings that should all go well next week you've got a gifted chance at being in the GF.

You seemed to imply it would some sort of media atrocity should Essendon be in the same position, with that lovely article introduction you wrote...

Actually, I'm arguing that membership numbers are irrelevant...

I'm aware that Essendon or Geelong will benefit from this contract. However, Brisbane are hardly in a position to whinge these days are they? I just find it amusing. It's unfair, but my heart hardly breaks for them.

 

[Crooked Rain]

Brisbane Lions have 30,004 Brisbane based members. If we want to see our team play in the preliminary final, we have to pay for airfares and accommodation, not to mention food and travel expenses.

The Brisbane Lions travelled 10 times around the countryside in a 22 game home and away season, they did the hard yards, they did what was required of them and they finished 2nd on the ladder.

Their reward - to travel to Victoria to play a Melbourne based team in a preliminary final that they won the right to host at home.

It is hard enough to premote this game to a Rugby League State, only to lose our preliminary final, which is ours by the right of winning, because we happen to finish 2nd behind another Interstate Team.

Don't worry it happens in Rugby League. The broncos will have to play in Sydney from week two on in the finals.

No big deal. The Lions should be used to the MCG - the home of Aussie Rules.

 

[lioness]

You've got an awesome team.

You've got the double chance.

You get a week off.

You get $600k more to spend in your salary cap than the rest of us.

You have a distinct home ground advantage for at least half your games.

And you wanna whinge about this?

Why not? Gotta keep ourselves amused somehow til the premierships stop rolling in.........

 

[JeffDunne]

Why not? Gotta keep ourselves amused somehow til the premierships stop rolling in.........

You mean 'till when the concessions stop rolling in.

 

[lioness]

You mean 'till when the concessions stop rolling in.

Nope. I doubt it would have a bearing, and I will be thrilled when they're gone so you can all shut up and realise what a difference they DIDN'T make.

 

[Tim the Toolman]

I'm just hoping we meet Essendon in Melbourne so I can listen to all their supporters whinge "oh give us a go ump!" or "leave Hirdy alone" etc... as I usually encounter at their Melbourne games!

 

[JeffDunne]

Nope. I doubt it would have a bearing, and I will be thrilled when they're gone so you can all shut up and realise what a difference they DIDN'T make.

See that's the funny thing. They could remove the $600K today and it wouldn't make any difference.

The concessions are what got you the team. The premierships are going to guarantee you keep 'em.

 

[campbell]

I dont think you trolls realise that when the new interstate players concessions for all clubs come in,Brisbane will still be getting the most becuase they only have 23% oif their list from their state.Not 75% like some clubs.

 

[JeffDunne]

The AFL think the Lions (and Swans) being successful is "good for football".

Regardless of how Lions supporters defend their concessions, or Fitzroy faithful claim they are a part of the Lions, the undeniable fact is the AFL use these teams to promote the AFL north of the Murray. The AFL WANT them to be succesful. The AFL see these states as the only real growth areas for AFL. The AFL feel they NEED them to be successful. So the AFL will do what it takes for them to be succesful.

If you think the cap concessions are the only handouts these teams ever get or are ever going to get, then you're seriously deluded. If either Sydney or Brisbane was to head towards the bottom, they would be given every assistance to rise back up the ladder.

Lions fans are just kidding themselves if they think otherwise.

 

[lioness]

I dont think you trolls realise that when the new interstate players concessions for all clubs come in,Brisbane will still be getting the most becuase they only have 23% oif their list from their state.Not 75% like some clubs.

Exactly. And no amount of facts will ever get that through their stupid heads. 600k is NOT going to 'buy' 3 premierships, and the AFL is not making them happen. But some of the things the trolls spew out is pretty amusing.

 

[mustapha]

I agree that the AFL has not given Brisbane 3 premierships. What they have done is create an environment which has allowed Brisbane to retain a list capable of winning multiple premierships. Brisbane have recruited well, have great coaching and have taken full advantage of the concessions that they have received. They have retained most of their list like no other club. In my opinion the AFL did not create the monster, it created itself in conditions that were suited to the development of a monster.

Would they have won without the concessions ? We will never know.

 

[Alpha Wolf]

The AFL think the Lions (and Swans) being successful is "good for football".

Regardless of how Lions supporters defend their concessions, or Fitzroy faithful claim they are a part of the Lions, the undeniable fact is the AFL use these teams to promote the AFL north of the Murray. The AFL WANT them to be succesful. The AFL see these states as the only real growth areas for AFL. The AFL feel they NEED them to be successful. So the AFL will do what it takes for them to be succesful.

If you think the cap concessions are the only handouts these teams ever get or are ever going to get, then you're seriously deluded. If either Sydney or Brisbane was to head towards the bottom, they would be given every assistance to rise back up the ladder.

Lions fans are just kidding themselves if they think otherwise.

Collingwood Board.

Bit bitter after Friday night are we?

Give back your draft picks!

 

[Karbassiyoon]

Why don't you think of all the old Fitzroy supporters who get to see them.

the same fans that didn't do enough to keep thier club alive despite clubs such as hawthorn and st. kilda surviving through those same tough times?

 

[Bueller]

570,000 thanks very much. If you're gonna be a smartmouth at least attempt to get it right.

Gee, a whole 30,000 difference.

 

[Roylion]

The concessions are what got you the team. The premierships are going to guarantee you keep 'em.

The salary cap concession got us the team? So are you saying that being allowed to pay more than the regular salary cap allowed the Lions to recruit more expensive and better players that enabled them to win the premierships? Aren't you therefore implying that the Lions used the extra allowance to poach good players from other sides to assemble an "unbeatable" side.

In fact that's not what has happened. As others have said before, the Lions have recruited very well and are certainly coached very well.

Yes, certainly the Brisbane Bears concessions have contributed in part to that success, but the Bears certainly have had no more zone concessions than Port Adelaide or West Coast Eagles for example and certainly much less that say the 29 Port Adelaide zone selections taken in 1997. The Bears had nine zone selections in 10 years of history, while the Brisbane Lions have had one. Port have been minor premiers for three successive years, winning more H&A matches than the Lions and some of their zone selections, such as Warren Tredrea for example are as crucial to their success as Michael Voss and Jason Akermanis are to the Lions' success.

Yes, the Lions also merged their playing lists from the Bears and Fitzroy via the merger. However that concession was open to any club that merged and indeed the merger conditions for say Melbourne and Hawthorn were far more generous than the conditions for the Bears and Fitzroy. All other clubs made the choice that continuing on as a single entity outweighed any merger benefits. 13 out of the 15 clubs voted in favor of the Brisbane-Fitzroy merger, rather than the North-Fitzroy merger on the basis of the merger conditions.

As for the salary cap concession that currently stands at 9% (or +$540,000) and will be reduced to 7.5% next season and 5% in 2006, the Lions use it purely for retention. There is no cost of living factored in, as there is for Sydney. The reasons for this come down simply to one fact. Brisbane has much more significant interstate component of their playing list than any other club (even Sydney). The local content for Brisbane in 2004 stands at 27%, whereas for clubs such as Adelaide it is well over 65%. Carlton for example has a local component of 80% for its' 2004 list. Quite simply the retention allowance of 9% allows Brisbane to compete in re-signing players. While its'top tier of players is paid signficantly less than what they would earn, the AFL confirmed earlier this year that the Lions pay significantly more to their middle tier players than other clubs. These are the players that are at most risk of returning to their state of origin after their fist or second contract. As brisbane (and Sydney) have a far greater proportion of these than the other 14 clubs, due to their geographical location, the AFL allows them to pay a higher amount. That amount will be reduced by another 4% from the situation at the moment and will be lost completely should the Lions local content exceed 40% of their total list.

 

[campbell]

Thankyou Roylion.......

 

[JeffDunne]

Thankyou Roylion.......

Roylion believes the Lions are a merger. Believe that and you'll believe anything.

Most Brisbane based Lions fans haven't even heard of Fitzroy!

 

[campbell]

Roylion believes the Lions are a merger. Believe that and you'll believe anything.

Most Brisbane based Lions fans haven't even heard of Fitzroy!

You sir are an idiot.

We ex bears supportes are proud of our Lions History,they are our family.

We are proud of our club,period.

 

[Homer]

Hilarious thread. The Anti-Lions sentiment is great. Most of it is StKilda (who we have just finished bending over), Collingwood (bitterness says it all, SSeptember is back to its usual boring self again.) and Essendon (They're on a good wicket, of course they are gonna fight to keep the wool over the AFL's eyes) supporters.

Strangely enough, the same old tired rubbish keeps getting trotted out 'salary cap', 'merger' etc etc.

Not too disimilar to the on-field team... Don't light a fire that you can't put out.

 

[Alpha Wolf]

Roylion believes the Lions are a merger. Believe that and you'll believe anything.

Most Brisbane based Lions fans haven't even heard of Fitzroy!

It's amazing what a thumping from the Brisbane machine can do to a football supporter's psyche...

Who are you to say whether it was a merger or not? Roylion puts forth a factual, airtight argument (time and time again) and all that's fired back at him is bitter cheap shots. Enjoy your well earned semi final. Hopefully your players aren't feeling as hopeless as you are.

 

[JeffDunne]

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for ex-Fitzroy supporters getting enjoyment from the Lions success. Christ, after what the AFL did to their club for the better part of a decade I'm surprised they even follow the AFL.

But the past eighteen months have given me a Brisbane perspective on the Lions. I find it incredible the level of ignorance of other teams and the AFL as a whole in the Brisbane membership. I'm not talking supporters, I'm talking members.

Comments I've heard in the last week :

On telling someone I was a Saints supporter : "Didn't StKilda merge with a Tasmanian team."

On the Lions being a merger : "we didn't merge with anyone. We took over the bears when Fizroy folded". That gave me a chuckle. But he then followed with, "we paid six million to by the jumper and name from Fiztroy so they could pay creditors". This coming from someone who has attended the last three grand finals.

And trust me, these sort of views are common.

 

[bigmicka]

bris girl,

you make mention of how we can market a competition in Brisbane against the NRL if we schedule home gomes for interstate teams in Victoria.

yet you dont want to have this fight against the NRL for only scheduling finals in week two or later in Sydney only.

for shame. not only did the Broncos kick ass for years, it seems all your bandwagon supporters got off the broncos and got onto the lions while they are winning.

mic

 

[kahuna71]

Brisbane Lions have 30,004 Brisbane based members. If we want to see our team play in the preliminary final, we have to pay for airfares and accommodation, not to mention food and travel expenses.

The Brisbane Lions travelled 10 times around the countryside in a 22 game home and away season, they did the hard yards, they did what was required of them and they finished 2nd on the ladder.

Their reward - to travel to Victoria to play a Melbourne based team in a preliminary final that they won the right to host at home.

It is hard enough to premote this game to a Rugby League State, only to lose our preliminary final, which is ours by the right of winning, because we happen to finish 2nd behind another Interstate Team.

I know all Essendon and Geelong supporters are beside themselves because the outcome of the MCC contract favours them, but I want the AFL Commission to know, that as a full member of the Brisbane Lions, you have let us down for not having the foresight to entertain the idea that Interstate Teams would finish 1st and 2nd in 40 years, the length of that stupid contract you signed.

My heart's bleeding for you, poor gummy bears.

 

[mustapha]

My problem with the concessions is that there is no evidence to support the contention that Brisbane loses more players due to homesickness than other clubs. If you compare lists from now to 97-98 Brisbane have lost less players than any other club (that includes all reasons such as retirement, trading, homesickness etc.). There have not been a huge amount of players leaving Brisbane due specifically to homesickness. Many Brisbane supporters have argued that they would still win premierships without concessions because the players are loyal to the jumper (they are probably right). If concessions are not needed why do they still exist?
I believe that the concessions are applied to keep the Brisbane team consistently successful over a number of years and then in turn grow AFL in the northern states. "Homesickness" is the convenient excuse used to justify these concessions.

 

[JeffDunne]

My problem with the concessions is that there is no evidence to support the contention that Brisbane loses more players due to homesickness than other clubs. If you compare lists from now to 97-98 Brisbane have lost less players than any other club (that includes all reasons such as retirement, trading, homesickness etc.). There have not been a huge amount of players leaving Brisbane due specifically to homesickness. Many Brisbane supporters have argued that they would still win premierships without concessions because the players are loyal to the jumper (they are probably right). If concessions are not needed why do they still exist?
I believe that the concessions are applied to keep the Brisbane team consistently successful over a number of years and then in turn grow AFL in the northern states. "Homesickness" is the convenient excuse used to justify these concessions.

Especially when you consider StKilda have lost more players to Sydney than the other way around. Victorian players what more. And then we draft a future caption from NSW. Go figure? Victorian bias my arse!